Post navigation

Court Transfers Omar Khadr to Provincial Jurisdiction?

Today, July 8 – 10:00am (MDT) the Alberta Court of Appeal will release the decision regarding the case Omar Ahmed Khadr vs. Edmonton Institution determining the legality of his placement in a federal penitentiary.

On April 30, Omar’s lawyer, Dennis Edney had argued in an Edmonton Appeals Court that Omar should not be detained in a Federal institution as an adult offender, since he was a juvenile when captured. Omar should be under provincial jurisdiction where he would have access to transitional programs and parole. The federal lawyers claimed that Omar was sentenced as an adult for four of the five ‘crimes’ and should remain in a federal institution.

Omar was a 15-year-old Canadian juvenile at the time of his capture, whose fundamental rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms were disregarded. The Canadian government had the obligation to demand that Omar be treated according to the Geneva Conventions with special regard for his age, and be immediately returned to Canada. He should never have been detained by the U.S. or Canada.

After he was finally repatriated in 2012, Canada should have immediately set him free and offered him redress for the abuse he had suffered. Instead, our government placed him in maximum security detention charging him as an adult offender. The government has repeatedly stated,

“We will vigorously defend against any attempt to lessen his punishment.”

Khadr should be a free man right now. He should never have been taken to Guantanamo. He was a child warrior defending the building that was being attacked by American soldiers. His so called confession came after years of torture. How many captured American soldiers admitted to war crimes after being tortured by Japanese and North Korean interrogators? John McCain broke down and admitted to whatever crimes the north Vietnamese demanded. Where is the justice?